Teenagers-bless'em

Just spent an hour in the centre of Barnsley,trying to retrieve my 17 year old,drunk as a skunk,and been hit a couple of times by some guy who didn't appreciate his big mouth.He doesn't feel there's a problem,and doesn't understand why we might be concerned.And breathe.
Ian

i reckon he will learn to not shoot his mouth off quite quickly.
most teenagers are pretty good at heart, and you might not think it, even have a bit of respect.
but youthfullness and beer dont tend to mix too well....he will feel like shyte today....just dont rub it in too much.

Sad thing is, there are grown men who act in the same way as he did - he needs telling to pipe down if he ever wants to enjoy a night out.
It might not stop him drinking to excess but it might mean he won't be so gobby next time!

It only takes a wrong word spoken to the wrong person for a jovial night to turn into something more serious e.g. a police cell or, god forbid, a hospital bed!

Yep OK did a similar thing when I was seventeen. Lairy, pissed etc some skinhead dude took exception to me and headbutted me knocking my front tooth out! I'd got a good set of mates who took me to A&E and got me home though.

I never as a teen learn anything from what my parents said to me, it all came through my experience of making mistakes on my own. My son is only 8 so i still have time before i need to eat my own words Good luck

Not sure if he is your first/only child but I have to say that I honestly wouldn't worry too much.

I would think pretty much every teenager in the UK goes out and does this from the age of about 16 onwards? I know me and my brother and um, all my friends used to. I genuinely think I would be more worried if I had a teenage son who didn't do this at least a few times.

There's no way he's going to see it as a 'problem' as it probably isn't- he was most likely having a great time until he got smacked in the mouth. And after a day of having a hangover and a sore lip he will surely be fine. Lets face it, he's only doing what half the population do every single weekend. unless you think he's actually an alcoholic or something I wouldn't worry.